A presentation by A/Prof Julie Leask (University of Sydney School of Public Health and NCIRS) and Dr Cameron Webb (NSW Health Pathology and University of Sydney) for Early Career Researchers and public health researchers at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia, on Wednesday 29 July 2015.

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Social Media and Research
Presented by
A/Prof Julie Leask, School of Public
Health
and NCIRS
Dr Cameron Webb, NSW Health
Pathology & Marie Bashir Institute of
Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity
How can social media help
ECRs?

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Image: Kheng Guan Toh - Fotolia
What is social media?

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What are your objectives as an Early Career
Researcher?
 What do you want to achieve?
 What skills do you need?
 How can you identify mentors
and networks?
 How might social media be used
in your research?
 How can you translate your
research into policy or practice?
Image: Cameron Webb

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What are the platforms?
“A group of Internet-based
applications that … allow
the exchange of user-
generated content”. (Kaplan
2010)
Source: http://www.foodiggity.com/social-media-explained-with-donuts/

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0 5 10 15
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
Tumblr
LinkedIn
Twitter
TripAdvisor
Tinder
Snapchat
Pinterest
MySpace
Google Plus
Statistics compiled by SocialMediaNews.com.au for May 2015
Number of unique visits to websites by Australians in May 2015 (millions)
How many people use the different social media platforms?
Image source: http://www.lisalarter.com/blog/why-are-
you-using-social-media/

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What is social media? Facebook

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What is social media? Blogging (e.g. Wordpress)
 Free space online to share
ideas and perspectives
 Rapid publication
 Can complement scholarly
publications
 Easily accessible by public and
potential collaborators
 User friendly interface
 Access to metrics on readership,
sharing and audiences

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Timely opportunities and widely accessible
Leask J (2015) Can social media increase the exposure of newly published research? Human Factors
https://julieleask.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/will-stopping-vaccine-objectors-from-accessing-payments-have-its-desired-impact

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What is social media? YouTube
 Video sharing & comments
 Channels
 Technical considerations
 Fast growing reference source

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What is social media? Instagram
 Picture sharing & comments
 Growing popularity
 Smartphone specific (mostly)
 “Networking” limited opportunities
 More broadcast, less conversation
 Easily integrated into other
platforms

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Centers for Disease Control [@cdcgov]
Can you make Instagram work for public health?

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 Network of users that send short
public messages
 Growing popularity amongst
academics and journalists
 Increasingly integrated into
mass media
 Free and available on many
platforms
 Available online without joining
What is social media? Twitter

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Term What is it? Example
Tweet
Messages sent by users up to
140 characters
Hashtag
Collect a series of tweets
around a specific topic
Retweet
A tweet by one user resent by
one or more other users
Mention
When one user includes
another user in their tweet
Some Twitter terminology to get your started…

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Twitter v. Facebook for researchers
van Noorden (2014) Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network. Nature 512: 126–129
Twitter Facebook

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Lots of respected scientists already there!

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• Connection with colleagues (international)
• Connection with institution (awareness)
• Connection with community (public health)
• Identify collaborators (participants & specimens)
• Enhance crowdsourcing
• Networking at conferences (actual & virtual)
• Create voice of authority (mass & social media)
• Your “social media activity” as research itself
• It can be a productive distraction!
Social media and researchHow can social media help me as a
researcher?

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Connecting conversations and amplifying
voice

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Social media increasingly integrated into
conferences
Image: Cameron Webb

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matthew.todd@sydney.edu.au

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Crowdfunding

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Social media and academic impact
Webb CE (2013) Can social media increase the exposure of newly published research? Mosquito Research
and Management http://cameronwebb.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/can-social-media-increase-the-exposure-of-
newly-published-research//

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A case study: Social media and public health
• Much interest in “mosquito repellent bands”
within community wary of topical repellents
• Very little information via NSW Health
• Study published in 2009 in “General and
Applied Entomology” (limited readership)
• Wrote about it on blog in 2014
• Currently most read article (~60k views)
• Most common point of contact for blog
• Could it shape health authority policy?
Social media and public health
Webb CE (2014) From publication to the public: Can blogging scientific papers stop people getting sick?
Mosquito Research and Management http://cameronwebb.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/from-publication-to-the-
public-can-blogging-scientific-papers-stop-people-getting-sick/

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• Professional code of practice (policy?)
• Confidentiality
• Internal yardsticks
• External yardsticks, eg, a ‘buddy’
• Separating platforms eg, Facebook = personal
Professionalism
• It varies – you choose the investment
• Takes time to build momentum in some
platforms (be patient & persistent)
• Time trade-offs (“productive” distraction?)
• Integrate into your day (eg, coffee, bus trips)
Time
commitment
• De-individuation
• Bullying and harassment exists in some areas
• Risk manageRisks to self and
others
Issues to consider

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THANK YOU
Dr Cameron Webb
NSW Health Pathology and University of Sydney
Twitter: @mozziebites
Blog: www.cameronwebb.wordpress.com
A/Prof Julie Leask
School of Public Health and NCIRS
Twitter: @julieleask
Blog: www.julieleask.wordpress.com